He Sanlang finished the last piece of venison with all his might and immediately felt his stomach rebel. He quickly covered his mouth to keep in whatever he had just eaten. Due to the pain of holding back from hurling, his fair face turned an unsightly red and his expression contorted.
When he saw the teacup before him, he immediately picked it up and gulped the water down, beyond caring that it was Chu Lian who had poured it for him.
Chu Lian looked at him with a combination of surprise and shock, eyes widening.
Once he had finished swallowing it all down, He Changdi turned his fierce glare onto Chu Lian. He wore an extremely unnatural expression, like that of a man trying to flaunt his Pyrrhic victory. Finally, he left the parlour in a hurry.
Right after He Sanlang left, Chu Lian made a noise of sympathy in the direction he had gone. That guy had run so fast, he must have gone to look for a place to throw up.
As expected, after He Sanlang strode out of the courtyard, his usual handsome self was nowhere in sight as he held onto a camphor tree and puked his guts out. The poor guy felt like he was about to throw up everything in his stomach, including the food he had eaten at the wedding banquet yesterday.
After he had purged from his gut all the venison that he had scarfed down, He Changdi looked up with a pale face and rubbed away the remnants of vomit from the corners of his mouth. He stared in the direction of the courtyard with a deep and serene look. Upon recalling Chu Lians extremely aggrieved expression and how she had stopped herself from speaking, the pain he had gone through felt almost worth it.
When he had reincarnated back into this life, it was already too close to the wedding day, so he couldn't change their marriage. However, as long as he existed, that wicked woman had better think twice about passing her days in peace!
Meanwhile, the object of He Changdis curses and bad thoughts was currently bored stiff, staring at the still-full dishes on the table with a blank face.
Senior Servant Gui used the serving chopsticks to place some fish in Third Young Madams bowl, her eyes slightly red. "Third Young Madam, Third Young Master isn't here anymore. You didn't eat enough, so please eat a little more!"
Chu Lian shook her head, "Im not eating anymore, Im already full. Just clear the table!"
Mingyan hurriedly tried to persuade her otherwise. "Third Young Madam, please don't worry. Third Young Master went out and he won't be back so soon. Although this perch isn't as delicious as the venison, it's still something we don't get to eat very often! Why don't you try a small mouthful?"
Chu Lian finally realised what was happening. She looked up at Senior Servant Gui and the maidservants, stupefied. She smiled and sighed, helpless in the face of their concern. "Did you think that I didn't dare to eat because I was scared of my husband?"
Senior Servant Gui looked at her with concern. The look in her eyes confirmed Chu Lians suspicions.
Chu Lian held her forehead in her hands and explained, "You were thinking too much! I didn't eat much because these dishes aren't to my taste."
Although Senior Servant Gui hoped that she could convince her to eat a little more, as Chu Lian's servant, she couldn't possibly force the matter. Since Chu Lian was insistent, she could only instruct the maidservants to clear the table.
In the late afternoon, Matriarch He specially sent one of her most trusted servants, Senior Servant Liu, over with some nourishing soup. With Senior Servant Liu watching from the side, Chu Lian couldn't reject it; the only thing she could do was force herself to drink it down. The soup tasted extremely strange. Who knew what had gone into it? After Senior Servant Liu took her leave, Chu Lian had to drink three cups of water and eat two candied kumquats to remove that strange taste from her mouth.
After that torture, Chu Lian lost all interest in even taking a nap.
She recalled the candied kumquats she had ordered Xiyan to make earlier, so she got Senior Servant Gui to arrange them on some pretty plates. Chu Lian then personally set off to send them to Matriarch He and her mother-in-law, Countess Jingan.
Matriarch He had the habit of taking an afternoon nap, and was still sleeping when Chu Lian arrived at Qingxi Hall. Thus, she passed the candied kumquats to Senior Servant Liu.
When she reached Countess Jingans courtyard, Chu Lian only spent ten minutes there before leaving, afraid that she would disturb her mother-in-laws rest.
After returning to her own courtyard, she asked for He Changdi's whereabouts. When she heard that he was in the study at the outer court, she decided not to disturb him and went to take a nap, Xiyan by her side.
It was currently spring, right at the time when the air was starting to warm up and the flowers were starting to bloom. The temperature outside was comfortable. The bridal chamber faced the direction of the morning sun, so sunlight was streaming in from a nearby window, warming her up. Xiyan let down the thin, red curtains on the sides of the bed and left her alone, lying in the exquisitely made bedchamber.
Chu Lian rolled about on the soft, fragrant bed, carefree and relaxed. Following that, she placed her arms behind her head and stared at the auspicious drawings on the roof of the bedchamber.
Although the husband she had married was completely different from the novels He Changdi, Chu Lian didn't feel any regrets or fear. She was naturally optimistic and independent, and had never ever been pessimistic in her life.
Back in the modern world, she had been an orphan who had built her own business from scratch. However, she hadn't made many friends, and had never found her better half. Although she had come to the Great Wu Dynasty by accident, living here or living in the modern world was all the same to her!
Besides, she was ten years younger here and had even gotten a free handsome husband to boot! Although it was true that her husband was a little strange, Chu Lian wasn't discouraged.
If she could easily pass her days with her husband, then she would do her best to do so. If they really couldn't get along, she could just live as a layabout as a member of the Jingan Household. She would be fine as long as she didn't do anything stupid like the original female lead had.
As for He Changdi, if he really didn't like her, there was nothing she could do.
She had transmigrated into this world on her wedding day, so everything had already been set in stone. In this ancient era, cancelling a marriage contract, especially one involving the alliance of two families, wasn't something that could be done by just signing a divorce certificate at some bureau.
So far, there was no danger in staying in the Jingan Estate. Her top priority now was to improve her lifestyle. Right, she should start with her food!
Dressed in a thin nightgown, Chu Lian had her legs crossed while lying down on the bed. While thinking up some plans to improve her meals, she wiggled her little feet, completely comfortable in her new environment.
However, for some reason, she began to feel hot all over.
In the study in the outer court, Senior Servant Liu had also delivered some nourishing soup to He Changdi. After throwing up that mid-afternoon, He Changdi hadn't eaten anything else. Now that he was being forced to drink some strange herbal soup, he was already filled to the brim with frustration.
He Changdi no longer had the mood to continue reading the letters in front of him. Thus, he stood up and left the study.
Laiyue, his personal manservant, was dozing off while guarding the door outside. He Changdi kicked him to relieve some of his frustration, startling Laiyue awake. He wiped away the drool at the corner of his mouth and hurriedly asked, "Young Master, where are you going at this time?"
He Changdi cast a sideways glance at Laiyue and was about to reply that he was returning to his courtyard. However, he instantly remembered that the wicked woman, Chu Lian, was staying there, so he turned and headed to his mothers courtyard instead.
"I'm going to visit Mother."
Laiyue scratched his head and followed behind Third Young Master, confused. There were three great occasions in a man's life: meeting a friend in a foreign land, getting married, and ranking on the imperial examination. Third Young Master had just gotten married and Third Young Madam was such a beauty. "Why was Third Young Master walking around with such a dark look on his face, as if the entire world owed him three hundred taels of silver and no one was paying up?"
When He Changdi reached his mothers courtyard, Countess Jingan was currently walking about in her room with the support of one of her personal maidservants.
Something interesting seemed to have occurred, as the bell-like laughter of her personal maidservant, Miaozhen, drifted out from the parlour.
As He Sanlang walked closer, he could hear Countess Jingan talking and laughing with the servants by her side.
"Madam, these candied kumquats that Third Young Madam sent over are really delicious!" That was Miaozhen's voice.
"Yes, this old servant also thinks that they're good. Speaking critically, these candied kumquats look pretty and cheerful, and they even taste great. They won't lose out to the pastries that Cook Zhou makes!"
"Oh? I didn't think that these sweets could get such a high evaluation from you. Let me have one to try." Countess Jingans voice was clearly a little weak.
Following that came the sound of the maidservants footsteps.
He Changdi's expression changed and he sprinted into his mothers room. When he saw the plate of candied kumquats that Miaozhen was about to bring to his mother, he reached out and knocked it away.
The little dish immediately shattered, making a sharp, ear-piercing sound as it hit the ground. The translucent candied kumquats scattered all over the floor.
Everyone in the room was so shocked by He Changdi's sudden actions that they turned completely mute.
It was Countess Jingan who recovered and reacted first. She stared at her youngest son with her brows slightly drawn together as she said, "Sanlang, what are you doing? Your wife personally delivered these to me this afternoon as a gift."
He Changdi finally realised that he had acted too impulsively. However, upon thinking of the ploys that Chu Lian had used in his past life, he felt that he hadn't done anything wrong.
"Mother, you're not well. You have to be careful with what you eat. Don't let it affect your body."
No one knows a man better than his own mother. Countess Jingan seemed to have detected something from He Changdi's flickering eyes. She sent away the servants in the room before she asked her son, "I heard from Senior Servant Liu that you don't seem to be very happy with your wife. Is this true? Tell Mother why you're so unhappy with her. She came to visit me this afternoon, and she seems like a good child. "
He Changdi was astounded. He inwardly sneered. Who would have thought that that wicked woman, Chu Lian, would actually try and play this game while he was away? She had even come to curry favour with his mother.
"Mother, don't think too much about it. Nothings wrong. I'm just worried about your health."
Seeing that He Changdi wasn't willing to speak the truth, Countess Jingan could only sigh. "Sanlang, Mother worries the most over you. If you don't pass your days in happiness, how can Mother relax?"
He Sanlang's expression was extremely dark when he left Countess Jingan's courtyard. By this point, he had already heard of what Chu Lian had done earlier in the afternoon. So she had been up to something while he wasn't around. He walked towards his courtyard in a huff.
Laiyue scratched his head as he followed behind his master. He found that he really couldn't understand Third Young Master anymore.
Chu Lian napped for an hour in a daze. She woke up in the most uncomfortable way, covered in sweat and stifled. Thus, she ordered Jingyan and Mingyan to prepare a hot bath for her.
She had just entered the fragrant hot bath when she heard Mingyan's alarmed voice outside. "Third Young Master, Third Young Master, it's not convenient to meet Third Young Madam at this time! Please wait for a moment before going in!"